The pilota is the person who works the pila, or rice mill, in the countryside around Verona, and since the job is physically demanding, the risotto is substantial. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) short-grained rice, ideally Vialone Nano
- 12 ounces (300 g) pork loin and pork side (the cut used for bacon, which you'll find at an Italian or oriental market)
- A small white onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic
- A walnut-sized chunk of butter
- Beef broth (figure 1 1/2 pints (750 ml), hot, but have more handy)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (50 g) grated Parmigiano
Preparation:
To make this you'll need a broad heavy bottomed pot that will heat the ingredients evenly.Begin by shredding the meat, seasoning it with salt and pepper, and letting it sit for a couple of hours.
Come time to prepare the risotto, begin by pouring the rice into the broth pot until you have a cone that just emerges from the surface of the pot -- this is, incidentally, a good empirical way of calculating the amount of rice to add to a pot of water. Give the pot a good shake and set it over a brisk flame, covered for about 10 minutes, then remove it from the flames, stir the rice about, and cover it with a moistened cloth before replacing the lid. Let it sit, covered, for 15 minutes, during which time it will finish cooking.
While the rice is cooking, melt the butter in the heavy-bottomed pot and sauté the onion until it wilts, then add the meat and continue cooking, stirring frequently. When the rice is done, stir the cooked pork and cheese into it; if everything has worked the grains of rice will remain separate.
As a variation, rather than use diced pork loin and pork side, the people working the rice mills would often use pork chops, sautéing them in the onion mix.
